Whatever you do, from vocation to lifestyle choice, there’s probably some kind of underlying philosophy or point of view that informs it. This can encompass processes and approaches to problem solving as well as a general attitude.

I’ve been fortunate enough to learn and understand many of these, and it’s occurred to me that they all have something to learn from that can be applied in other disciplines and areas of life. Looking at a few of these, it also occurs to me that these ideas can echo and parallel in interesting ways.

Stand up Comedy has quite a few attitudes and philosophies. I examine most of these core ideas thoroughly in my book, but briefly I’ll just state that these include (but are not limited to):

• The importance of free speech
• The idea that everyone’s responsible for their own feelings (including feelings of offense)
• The understanding that violations have to be rendered benign
• The agreement that we have to be funnier than we are offensive
• The agreement that we have to be funnier than we are preachy
• Undeniability – the idea that self-improvement and improving our act is the correct response to any obstacles or opposition we face.

There’s also a range of ideas we instinctively use when writing and presenting our material, which include word economy, specificity, consistency. being present, trying not to punch down, that sort of thing. These are unconscious considerations that all of our processes take into account.

I’m lucky enough to perform regularly and semi-regularly at a few cocktail bars, and this is a venue I personally enjoy working in. The tone is better matched to my style than a lot of the other places I’ve worked. I’m rather partial to a nice cocktail, myself (especially a good Negroni or Bloody Mary if that’s what you specialize in), and I also enjoy watching skilled mixologists doing their alchemical magic.

Osk, who hold comedy events every month, are mindful enough to have a special cocktail menu at these events, one where all of the available cocktails are made without shaking a tin filled with ice, as they know how disruptive that process can be to a comedy performance. But for everything they do there’s some philosophy behind actual cocktail design.

Mixologists use the phrase “structure” as frequently as comedians to. While we talk about the structure of our jokes and sets, and the importance of building them with sound structure, the structure of a cocktail is how it’s built using a base, modifier and mixer.

Like the algorithmic formula behind a joke, the base is often relatively neutral. It’s the chassis the recipe is built on, and it determines what kind of product we’re dealing with. The “big six” spirits for cocktail bases are brandy, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, and whiskey. For jokes? Puns, misdirects, analogies, etc… you get the idea.

The modifier in a cocktail is usually a liqueur like Vermouth, Cointreau, Baileys, Limoncello, Aperol, etc. This will be the dominant element in terms of flavour. For your joke, the equivalent is the context that adds life and character to your sparse algorithm. It’s what your joke is about.

For drinks, the mixer is usually going to be the most volume. It flavours the recipe as well as diluting it to make it palatable. It might be coke, orange juice, cream, etc. It doesn’t have any potency of it’s own, but it makes the effective elements more palatable. Comedians might regard the details and setup of their material to be the equivalent of mixers. We know that this part isn’t where the potency is and that we increase the potency of our product by reducing the part that dilutes it… but we also know that this is the tasty part that helps the medicine go down, and most people seeking a well balanced cocktail wouldn’t be as happy swigging unpalatable spirits straight from the bottle.

How do you get the mix right and serve something appealing? Well, mixologists generally refer to their “golden rule.” It’s a recommendation to use 2 parts Spirit, 1 part Sweetness, 1 part Sour. Smart cocktail experts know that too much sweetness is a rookie error. It’s tempting to make something more attractive by cranking up the sweet component but it doesn’t work.

You end up with something cloying and feels “too much.” The complexity and desire for more comes from the interplay that comes from the tension between a perfect balance of sweet and sour.

… Which brings us to comedy. Comedy is all about tension, controlling tension and it’s release. Our mastery of stand up is directly related to our ability to balance tension.

Too-sweet comedians are ineffective. Sure, likeability is important; but Benign without Violation doesn’t generate laughter. There needs to be some tension, the hint of danger, the suggestion of menace, a subtle violation – or the release is just meaningless pandering. Just last night I saw Luke Heggie say on a podcast that comedians don’t want to be assholes, but their onstage persona should ideally be their worst version of themselves.

Conversely, many comics like to go to the other extreme. Edgy Comedy is something a lot of comics want to do, but getting the balance wrong in this direction is a trap. Audiences are resistant to accepting unsweetened sourness, and sometimes actively avoid listening to or understanding it. If too-sweet pandering is a punch that doesn’t have any impact, the too-edgy violation is a devasting blow that frequently misses it’s target. Tension without release is just a violation.

I know a lot of comedians who want to be Bad Boys of comedy, and that’s fine if the balance is right. People find bad boys attractive, but nobody is attracted to charmless toxicity. It’s all about getting that sweet/sour balance right. We can’t do Benign Violation without the violation part, but we have to make it benign. We can’t just hit people with uncontrolled tension. Comedy is about managing tension, not assaulting people with it.

Anyway, all this talk of cocktails is making me want one. I think I might do a little mixing of my own…